Pitcher Noah Syndergaard, who recently went to the New York Mets in a trade that sent Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey to the Toronto Blue Jays, has apologized for using an antigay slur on Twitter earlier this month.

In the December 9 tweet, which has been deleted from his Twitter timeline, Syndergaard told a friend, “Nice crocs f-- lol.” He apologized for the message Tuesday, the New York Daily News reports.

“I had a poor attempt at humor and an even worse attempt at using a term I shouldn’t have used,” he said in a conference call with reporters. “I hope I didn’t offend anybody. I’m really sorry my first introduction to being a New York Met had to be like this.”

Before the trade, Syndergaard was rated among Toronto’s top pitching prospects, and he was a key part of the deal with the Mets, the Daily News reports.